On Tuesday this week, Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden opened the AEPC 2021 Congress with a video greeting. During the congress, doctors from all over Europe gather digitally to discuss congenital heart disease in children.
In her opening speech Her Majesty said: “Depending on where they are born, children grow up under very different circumstances. And yet, they all have the same basic rights. I have understood that over the years, great success has been accomplished when it comes to the possibility to treat complex congenital heart defects, already in newborn babies. This is a wonderful development, of great importance for millions of children and their families.”
Her Majesty the Queen of Sweden continued: “However, we still have a long way to go until all children born with a congenital heart disease are given the optimal care that they need and that they, in fact, have the right to. The Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. To achieve the realization of that right, international co-operation is absolutely crucial. Therefore, I am especially pleased to see that this meeting is not only European, but international. I also notice that your State of the Art lecture puts forward the global perspective of heart disease in children.”
Queen Silvia concluded her speech by saying: “Let us hope that your efforts to connect health care professionals from all over the world, the way you are doing today, will eventually lead to significant improvements in the cardiac care of all children, also in the developing world. It is a great honour that this congress is organized here in Sweden, and I sincerely hope it will be a great success. Wishing you all the best of luck in your important work to develop the care of children with heart disease, I hereby declare the 54th Annual Meeting of the AEPC open.”
The Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology consists of about 1,500 doctors in Europe, who specialise in paediatric cardiology and congenital heart disease in children. The association arranges an annual congress with the aim of improving collaboration for scientific research and developing the profession. This year’s congress, the 54th annual event, is arranged in Gothenburg and takes place digitally from 25 May to 27 May.
